Meet the winners of the prestigious awards, given away in Manila.
Kumar was among five individuals who were declared winners of the award, which is Asia's premier prize and highest honour and celebrates greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.
The two are among six individuals declared winners on Thursday.
Indian non-profit 'Educate Girls' wins the Ramon Magsaysay Award for its work in educating out-of-school girls in remote villages. The award recognizes selfless service to the peoples of Asia.
Water conservationist Rajendra Singh blames corruption and faulty infrastructure for the contaminated water crisis in Indore, which led to multiple deaths. He criticizes the city's reliance on the Narmada River and the lack of responsible water management.
Apart from the two Indians, four others have been selected for the award -- Conchita Carpio-Morales of the Philippines, Dompet Dhuafa of Indonesia, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and 'Vientiane Rescue' of Laos
Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation president Susanna B Afan and foundation trustee Emily A Abrera met with the Dalai Lama, the Nobel Peace laureate, to personally present the 1959 Ramon Magsaysay Award after 64 years.
Life has come full circle for Nobel laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus, who faced persecution during Sheikh Hasina's regime for embezzlement, is now all set to head of the interim government in Bangladesh after she resigned and fled the country.
In electing Kumar to receive the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognises his unfaltering commitment to a professional, ethical journalism of the highest standards; his moral courage in standing up for truth, integrity, and independence; and his principled belief that it is in giving full and respectful voice to the voiceless, in speaking truth bravely yet soberly to power, that journalism fulfills its noblest aims to advance democracy, the award citation said.
Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and former Kerala health minister K K Shailaja has declined to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award as it was instituted in the name of late President of the Philippines, who was known allegedly for his brutality against the Communists.
Prakash Amte, son of well-known social activist Baba Amte and his Mandakini Amte have been awarded the 2008 Ramon Magasaysau Award for community leadership.
Sonam Wangchuk, a key campaigner for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, on Monday said they would launch a fast unto death from February 19 to press their demands and that details of participation of local residents in the agitation were being worked out.
'If the BJP does not change its stand, we will hope that those who are in favour of protecting Ladakh come to power.'
Police have detained social activist Sandeep Pandey and three others ahead of a foot march planned on Monday to express solidarity with Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven of her family members murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, police said.
Nileema Mishra, who works with the poorest villagers in Maharashtra, and United States-trained Indian engineer Harish Hande, who revolutionised the use of solar lights, are among five people who have been honoured with this year's prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award. "The two had helped to harness technologies to empower their countrymen and created waves of progressive change across Asia," award foundation president Carmencita T Abella announced.
Rediff.com takes a look at all the Ramon Magsaysay awardees who have made India proud since 1958.
As an NGO, IVDP has facilitated loans totalling Rs 2,406 crore.
In Arvind Kejriwal, you will meet an unassuming fighter with a focused social objective -- rooting out corruption and introducing better governance.
Anushu Gupta is being recognised for "his creative vision in transforming the culture of giving" in India and Sanjiv Chaturvedi for 'Emergent Leadership'
Joshi is being recognised for 'his vision and leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India, by effectively combining 'head' and 'heart' in the transformative development of rural communities', the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said in a press statement from its headquarters in Manila.
"As I was working on agriculture, my family wanted me to take over the management of our plantations. But my aim was to master the art of developing new varieties, that is genetics and breeding. As the proverb has it, we reap what we sow. Consequently, sowing the right things is very important," M S Swaminathan had once said.
Born in Chennai in 1957, Sainath completed a master's degree in history before turning to a life of journalism. At Blitz, a Mumbai tabloid, he rose to be deputy chief editor and became a popular columnist. In 1993, he changed course.
Renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr Pramod Karan Sethi, whose invention of artificial limb 'Jaipur foot' was a durable hero of medicine in helping lakhs of amputees around the world lead a normal life again, died of cardiac arrest in Jaipur on Sunday.
Arvind Kejriwal is the founder of Delhi-based organisation Parivartan
The 2009 Magsaysay Award winner explains why he thinks the NREGA is critical.
The 70-year-old L Ramdas bagged the award for peace and international understanding.
Renowned agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan and the driving force behind the nation's 'Green Revolution,' passed away in Chennai on Thursday.
'This award is funded by American money so I took this decision.'
"As of now there is no abnormality due to the injury," Dr Gandhi added.
In his Manila speech, Kumar spoke about the current 'testing times' for journalists and common citizens.
Sheetal, 39, took the extreme step following a recent public spat with other members of the Amte family over the management of Maharogi Seva Samiti, a social service organisation founded by Baba Amte, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and Padma Vibhushan, who died in 2008.
Till he took over, political parties ferrying people to the polling stations was considered quite 'normal', and it was during Seshan's stint that it became impossible with the model code being made sacrosanct.
Winner of the 1996 Jnanpith and 1997 Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Mahasweta Devi firmly believed that 'real history is made by ordinary people.'
Sanjeev Chaturvedi said though he had investigated "hundreds" of corruption cases, never did his "very appointment to probe a case evoke the kind of nervousness, fear, confusion and apprehension as in this case".
Social activist and Aam Aadmi Party candidate for upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai northeast seat, Medha Patkar said her decision to enter the electoral fray was very tough.
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